Last week a dark spot on the Sun, nearly the size of Jupiter, let go with a massive solar eruption. For a number of days thereafter, scientists around the world waited to see if the discharged solar plasma and charged particles would interfere with communication systems, satellites, computer circuits and even the electrical grid.
George V. Hulme | 14 Mar | Read more
For years, IT has operated as sets of separate teams (hopefully) working on a common goal. There were development teams, IT operations teams, QA teams, security teams, and those who deploy and manage new services. Rarely did these departments work together in a cohesive fashion.
George V. Hulme | 07 Mar | Read more
While cloud computing and agile development and management processes are shaking the very foundations of the traditional IT department, it's important that organizations embrace these disciplines securely. With that in mind, we recently sat down with Gene Kim, award-winning entrepreneur, researcher and founder-former CTO of security firm Tripwire. Kim is also co-author of the books "Visible Ops" and "Visible Ops Security" -- which codify how organizations make their IT transformation from "good to great." In this interview we focus on the benefits of adding Rugged development principles to the DevOps IT organization.
George V. Hulme | 07 Mar | Read more
There was an unusual level of gloom at the RSA Conference this year, and for good reason: a number of the biggest and most respected security firms have been very recently breached, including RSA Security, VeriSign, and Symantec.
George V. Hulme | 06 Mar | Read more
At the third annual <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/article/700859/rsa-conference-2012-cloud-security-alliance-launches-innovation-program-eyes-mobile-threats-and-solutions">Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) summit</a> today, Michael McConnell, former director of the National Security Agency, urged the audience of 1,200 security experts to do what they can to help build trusted cloud computing systems.
George V. Hulme | 28 Feb | Read more
SAN FRANCISCO: Whether already computing in Cloud environments, planning to do so soon, or just thinking about it - how those systems will be kept secure is once again a topic that is front and center here at the third annual Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) summit, held at the RSA Conference.
George V. Hulme | 28 Feb | Read more
While the government may be in a rush to get the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 enacted, many in the industry are saying: not so fast.
George V. Hulme | 23 Feb | Read more
There are fewer topics stirring bigger buzz among information security professionals than big data, Cloud security, and mobile. So it's no surprise that those topics will dominate the discussions this year at the RSA Conference 2012.
George V. Hulme | 23 Feb | Read more
From the start, <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/article/697628/google-chrome-finally-gets-malware-download-protection">Google's Safe Browsing API</a> was designed to spot malicious web pages so users wouldn't get trapped in them. Google identifies these sites through its own algorithms and user notification.
George V. Hulme | 08 Feb | Read more
2011 saw a number of significant privacy events. From Facebook and Google Plus dueling over privacy policies to concerns over what information your mobile phone actually knows about you. However, technology keeps moving forward, and privacy issues are sure to follow. For a peek into what experts expect in the year and years ahead when it comes to privacy, we turned to <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/article/495298/common-dumb-dangerous-privacy-assumptions">Rebecca Herold (aka the Privacy Professor)</a> for answers.
George V. Hulme | 06 Jan | Read more
A decade ago, most viruses and worms were unleashed by curious students, pranksters and punks wanting to see what kind of damage they could inflict. That quickly evolved into criminals and thieves writing most of the malware once they realized money could be made.
George V. Hulme | 05 Jan | Read more
While we wait for the final judgment on the privacy implications of the <a href="http://blogs.csoonline.com/1843/lesson_of_the_carrier_iq_firestorm_vendors_must_change_their_ways">Carrier IQ fiasco</a>, security pros are asking what the potential security implications of the embattled mobile diagnostic software could be.
George V. Hulme | 08 Dec | Read more
Security <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/article/690758/healthcare-security-needs-a-booster-shot">breaches among healthcare organizations</a> are soaring. That's the conclusion of the Second Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by ID Experts.
George V. Hulme | 02 Dec | Read more
While the healthcare industry moves to invest billions into electronic health records, <a href="http://www.csoonline.com/article/690758/healthcare-security-needs-a-booster-shot">a steady trail of breaches and broken promises of security</a> is starting to take its toll on patient trust.
George V. Hulme | 22 Nov | Read more
Experts in the security of critical infrastructure have had the weekend to digest news that <a href="http://blogs.csoonline.com/1822/scada_and_phpmyadmin_a_match_made_in_hell">a public utility water pump in Springfield, Ill. was destroyed at the hands of remote attackers</a> who were able to gain access to the SCADA systems controlling it. Their initial advice: Share any information that can minimize or stop the next attack, but don't jump to conclusions.
George V. Hulme | 22 Nov | Read more